Workshop Sustainable Societal Metabolisms

18 Nov 2025, 09:00 → 20 Nov 2025, 22:00 Europe/Berlin

Building 1, Room 254 (VTS) (UFZ)

Walther Zeug

Organizational Documents Invitation-UFZ-Workshop-Sustainable-Societal-Metabolisms-2025.pdf Travel_Accommodation-WS.pdf

Tuesday 18 November

Welcome & Framing: Introduction

Convener: Walther Zeug

1 Welcome and introduction

Welcome and introduction to the UFZ & the research group ISAS (Integrated Sustainability Assessment of Societal Systems)

Getting to Know Each Other by a short introduction

Speaker: Walther Zeug

10:00 Coffee Break

Welcome & Framing: Framing the Challange

2 Framing the Challenge: Problem, Approach & Shared Aims

In this session, Walther Zeug will give a pitch to explore the core challenge that motivates this workshop: achieving sustainable societal metabolisms within ecological and societal boundaries. Walther will introduce the key problems, conceptual foundations, and proposed research framework. We will then engage in an open discussion to reflect on participants' perspectives, disciplinary backgrounds, and expectations. Together, we will aim to arrive at a shared understanding of the workshop’s goals and define common research aims that will guide our work over the coming days.

Speaker: Walther Zeug

12:15 Lunch at the UFZ Canteen

Module 1 – Resources: Regional and global sustainable availability of fossil, biogenic, and socioeconomic resources: Footprint and LCA

This session focuses on assessing the regional and global availability of fossil, biogenic, and socio-economic resources. We will explore current methods, datasets, biophysical and societal limits, and sustainability criteria,and key challenges.

Convener: Clemens Mostert (Universität Kassel)

3 Footprints & LCA

tba, How can footprint methods contribute to determine sustainable (regional) resource availability and use?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Clemens Mostert (Universität Kassel)

Module 1 – Resources: Regional and global sustainable availability of fossil, biogenic, and socioeconomic resources: Material Flow Accounting

This session focuses on assessing the regional and global availability of fossil, biogenic, and socio-economic resources. We will explore current methods, datasets, biophysical and societal limits, and sustainability criteria,and key challenges.

Convener: Hanspeter Wieland (Institute of Social Ecology (BOKU University Vienna))

4 Material Flow Accounting

tba, How can MFA contribute to determine sustainable (regional) resource availability and use?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Hanspeter Wieland (Institute of Social Ecology (BOKU University Vienna))

Module 1 – Resources: Regional and global sustainable availability of fossil, biogenic, and socioeconomic resources: Remote Sensing

This session focuses on assessing the regional and global availability of fossil, biogenic, and socio-economic resources. We will explore current methods, datasets, biophysical and societal limits, and sustainability criteria,and key challenges.

Convener: Andrew Pendergrass (Duke University)

5 Using remote sensing for live monitoring of pollutant emissions: prospects for democratic economic planning

Satellites and ground-based monitors can measure pollutants in the air but cannot infer their sources directly; pollutants may have blown downwind or reacted away. Knowledge of emissions comes instead from inventories, which are maps of pollutant sources along with their expected emissions magnitudes, constructed from information such as infrastructure plans and economic reports. Inventories thus link pollution to processes, and processes can be made targets of mitigation efforts. However, inventory construction takes several years and is subject to error. In this talk, I will present methods which fuse observational data with the actionable information of inventories through Bayesian optimization. In particular, I will present open-source software I have developed called CHEEREIO, which simplifies the process of computing emissions using remote sensing data. CHEEREIO’s wide-ranging capabilities have been used by groups internationally to study ethane from oil/gas fields in the Middle East, CO from Canadian wildfires, and methane trends in China — finding for the latter that benefits from closing small coal mines have been offset by growth in livestock emissions. I will comment on the prospects of integrating CHEEREIO and similar methods into mechanisms for democratic economic planning — and particularly in cases where accounting assumptions used for ecological resource planning are incorrect or have changed due to warming-induced emissions.

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Andrew Pendergrass (Duke University)

Module 1 – Resources: Regional and global sustainable availability of fossil, biogenic, and socioeconomic resources: Discussion M1

This session focuses on assessing the regional and global availability of fossil, biogenic, and socio-economic resources. We will explore current methods, datasets, biophysical and societal limits, and sustainability criteria,and key challenges.

14:45 Coffee Break

Module 2 – Production Systems: Sectoral resource use, intermediate interlinkages, and technology pathways: Economic Systems

The session aims to map relevant methodologies and databases for understanding current production systems and dynamics and explore alternative technological and organizational pathways.

Convener: Jakob Heyer (University of Jena)

6 Economic Systems

tba, Which economic system models of production systems and dynamics as well as alternative technological and organizational pathways are there?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Jakob Heyer (University of Jena)

Module 2 – Production Systems: Sectoral resource use, intermediate interlinkages, and technology pathways: HILCSA and CDEP

The session aims to map relevant methodologies and databases for understanding current production systems and dynamics and explore alternative technological and organizational pathways.

Convener: Walther Zeug

7 HILCSA and CDEP

tba, Holistic and Integrated Sustainability Assessment and Cybernetic Democratic Economic Planning

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Walther Zeug

Module 2 – Production Systems: Sectoral resource use, intermediate interlinkages, and technology pathways: Societal Metabolisms

The session aims to map relevant methodologies and databases for understanding current production systems and dynamics and explore alternative technological and organizational pathways.

Convener: Laura Perez Sanchez (ICTA-UAB)

8 Societal Metabolisms

tba, Which methodologies and databases help us understanding current production systems and dynamics of societal metabolisms?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Laura Perez Sanchez (ICTA-UAB)

Module 2 – Production Systems: Sectoral resource use, intermediate interlinkages, and technology pathways: Discussion M2

The session aims to map relevant methodologies and databases for understanding current production systems and dynamics and explore alternative technological and organizational pathways.

Wrap Ups: Wrap Up Day 1

Wrapping up and conclusions

19:00 Social Evening & Dinner

Wednesday 19 November

Module 3 - Consumption Systems: Needs, Practices, and Infrastructures of Consumption: Human Wellbeing and Prerequisites

This module investigates how societal needs are met through individual and productive consumption, including the role of care and infrastructure. Participants will share insights on consumption modeling, behavioral patterns, and justice implications, contributing to a multidimensional view of sustainable consumption systems.

Convener: Lea Agnes Tamberg

9 Human Wellbeing and Prerquisites

tba, What is and how to measure human wellbeing by which data and which implications are there on consumption modeling, behavioral patterns and justice implications?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Lea Agnes Tamberg

Module 3 - Consumption Systems: Needs, Practices, and Infrastructures of Consumption: Decent Living Standards

This module investigates how societal needs are met through individual and productive consumption, including the role of care and infrastructure. Participants will share insights on consumption modeling, behavioral patterns, and justice implications, contributing to a multidimensional view of sustainable consumption systems.

Convener: Hauke Schlesier (EMPA)

10 Decent Living Standards

tba, What are decent living standards within planetary boundaries and which implications are there for consumption modeling, behavioral patterns, and justice implications?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Hauke Schlesier (EMPA)

Module 3 - Consumption Systems: Needs, Practices, and Infrastructures of Consumption: Economic, Spatial and Sectoral Distribution

This module investigates how societal needs are met through individual and productive consumption, including the role of care and infrastructure. Participants will share insights on consumption modeling, behavioral patterns, and justice implications, contributing to a multidimensional view of sustainable consumption systems.

Convener: Peter-Paul Pichler

11 Economic, Spatial and Sectoral Distributions

tba, How can economic, spatial and sectoral distributions of impact be measured and which implications are there on consumption modeling, behavioral patterns, and justice implications?.

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Peter-Paul Pichler

Module 3 - Consumption Systems: Needs, Practices, and Infrastructures of Consumption: Discussion M3

This module investigates how societal needs are met through individual and productive consumption, including the role of care and infrastructure. Participants will share insights on consumption modeling, behavioral patterns, and justice implications, contributing to a multidimensional view of sustainable consumption systems.

10:30 Coffee Break

Module 4 – Political-Social Systems and Communication: Governmentality

This session addresses the political and social dimensions of transformations. We will discuss governance frameworks, science-policy interfaces, and the role of communication and public engagement in shaping just and democratic transitions.

Convener: Jan Groos (Kiel University)

12 Governmentality of Transformations

tba, What are possbile governmentalities of transformations and their implications on science-policy interfaces, communication and public engagement in shaping just and democratic transitions?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Jan Groos (Kiel University)

Module 4 – Political-Social Systems and Communication: Decarbonization State

This session addresses the political and social dimensions of transformations. We will discuss governance frameworks, science-policy interfaces, and the role of communication and public engagement in shaping just and democratic transitions.

Convener: Ulrich Brand (University of Vienna)

13 Decarbonization state

tba, Why is the decarbonization of current states limited and which implications are there for governance frameworks, science-policy interfaces, and the role of communication and public engagement in shaping just and democratic transitions?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Ulrich Brand (University of Vienna)

Module 4 – Political-Social Systems and Communication: Political Economy, Incommensurability, Environment and Planning

This session addresses the political and social dimensions of transformations. We will discuss governance frameworks, science-policy interfaces, and the role of communication and public engagement in shaping just and democratic transitions.

Convener: John O'Neill (University of Manchester)

14 Political Economy, Incommensurability, Environment and Planning

tba, What are implications from the political economy of planning on governance frameworks, science-policy interfaces, and the role of communication and public engagement in shaping just and democratic transitions?

Speaker: John O'Neill (University of Manchester)

Module 4 – Political-Social Systems and Communication: Labour and Care in Just Transition

This session addresses the political and social dimensions of transformations. We will discuss governance frameworks, science-policy interfaces, and the role of communication and public engagement in shaping just and democratic transitions.

Convener: Anna Katharina Keil (University of Lausanne)

15 Labour and Care in Just Transition

tba, Which concepts of labour and care are there in debates on just transitions and which impications do they have on governance frameworks, science-policy interfaces, and the role of communication and public engagement in shaping just and democratic transitions?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Anna Katharina Keil (University of Lausanne)

Module 4 – Political-Social Systems and Communication: Discussion M4

This session addresses the political and social dimensions of transformations. We will discuss governance frameworks, science-policy interfaces, and the role of communication and public engagement in shaping just and democratic transitions.

12:40 Lunch

Actually this day is a regional holiday and we are ordering pizza

Module 5 – Data Science and AI: Capabilities of Data-Driven Methods: Computational Modelling of Complex Systems

We explore the role of data science, AI, and big data in supporting integrated socio-ecological modeling. The session will cover data availability, methodological innovations, and computational tools for enhancing model interoperability, scenario analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Convener: Yannick Oswald (University of Lausanne)

16 Computational Modelling of Complex Systems

tba, How and which data science can help us enhancing model interoperability, scenario analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Yannick Oswald (University of Lausanne)

Module 5 – Data Science and AI: Capabilities of Data-Driven Methods: Agent Based Modelling

We explore the role of data science, AI, and big data in supporting integrated socio-ecological modeling. The session will cover data availability, methodological innovations, and computational tools for enhancing model interoperability, scenario analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Convener: Joel Foramitti (Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ))

17 Agent Based Modelling

tba, How can agent based modelling contribute to enhancing model interoperability, scenario analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration?

Please edit the title and abstract by November 20th 2025.

Presentation 20 min
+
Q&A 5 min

If possible, please upload your presentation and up to two relevant relating research papers.

Speaker: Joel Foramitti (Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ))

Module 5 – Data Science and AI: Capabilities of Data-Driven Methods: Discussion M4

We explore the role of data science, AI, and big data in supporting integrated socio-ecological modeling. The session will cover data availability, methodological innovations, and computational tools for enhancing model interoperability, scenario analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

15:10 Coffee Break

Synthesis, Capacity Building & Follow-Up: Discussion

This concluding session synthesizes insights from all module discussions and aligns them toward a shared research framework. We will identify opportunities for joint projects, collaborative publications, and funding initiatives. Emphasis will be placed on capacity building, strategic partnerships, and concrete next steps to advance an interdisciplinary research agenda for sustainable societal metabolisms beyond the workshop.

Wrap Ups: Wrap Up Day 2

Wrapping up and conclusions

19:20 Social Evening & Dinner

Thursday 20 November

Synthesis, Capacity Building & Follow-Up: Method Integration

This concluding session synthesizes insights from all module discussions and aligns them toward a shared research framework. We will identify opportunities for joint projects, collaborative publications, and funding initiatives. Emphasis will be placed on capacity building, strategic partnerships, and concrete next steps to advance an interdisciplinary research agenda for sustainable societal metabolisms beyond the workshop.

10:30 Coffee Break

Synthesis, Capacity Building & Follow-Up: Data Integration

This concluding session synthesizes insights from all module discussions and aligns them toward a shared research framework. We will identify opportunities for joint projects, collaborative publications, and funding initiatives. Emphasis will be placed on capacity building, strategic partnerships, and concrete next steps to advance an interdisciplinary research agenda for sustainable societal metabolisms beyond the workshop.

12:15 Lunch at UFZ Canteen

Synthesis, Capacity Building & Follow-Up: Projects & Products

This concluding session synthesizes insights from all module discussions and aligns them toward a shared research framework. We will identify opportunities for joint projects, collaborative publications, and funding initiatives. Emphasis will be placed on capacity building, strategic partnerships, and concrete next steps to advance an interdisciplinary research agenda for sustainable societal metabolisms beyond the workshop.

14:45 Coffee Break

Synthesis, Capacity Building & Follow-Up: Capacities and Infrastructure

This concluding session synthesizes insights from all module discussions and aligns them toward a shared research framework. We will identify opportunities for joint projects, collaborative publications, and funding initiatives. Emphasis will be placed on capacity building, strategic partnerships, and concrete next steps to advance an interdisciplinary research agenda for sustainable societal metabolisms beyond the workshop.

16:30 Coffee Break

Wrap Ups: Wrap Up Day 3

Wrapping up and conclusions

19:00 Social Evening & Dinner